Advances in data storage technology have provided for ever-increasing storage capability in devices such as DVD-ROMs, optical drives, and disk drives. In hard disk drives, for example, the width of a written data track has decreased due in part to advances in reading, writing, and positioning technologies. Narrower data tracks result in higher density drives, which is good for the consumer but creates new challenges for drive manufacturers. For example, as data tracks are narrowed, so are the read elements used to read the tracks. However, as read elements become narrower, and previously-used head-width tolerances become more difficult to achieve, controlling position error signal (PES) linearity becomes more difficult. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide for PES linearity improvements, e.g., by increasing the useable PES region.
Many servowriting techniques (e.g., self-servowriting techniques) require a three or more step-per-track servowriting process to provide a more linear (or at least, a linearizable) PES at all locations along a track. It would be preferable to reduce the number of steps-per-track, because the less steps per track, the faster the servo information can be written onto a disk.